


Ride or Die

by takoya_king



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: A.C.E is mentioned, Alternate Universe - 1950s, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Discrimination, Dreamcatchers - Freeform, Eden adopts everyone, Gay, I was caffeinated when I wrote this, If You Squint - Freeform, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, Kim Hongjoong is Whipped, Leez and Oullounder are mentioned, M/M, Merry Christmas, Mingi in a leather jacket, Multi, Not Beta Read, Other Fandoms Not Mentioned in Tags, Park Seonghwa is Whipped, Polyamory, Running Away, Seongjoonggi are adorably sweet and whipped, Soft Kim Hongjoong, Soft Park Seonghwa, Soft Song Mingi, Song Mingi is Whipped, What Was I Thinking?, eden is here, im a multistan mess i am so sorry, it's hinted but barely there, just cuz, kinky mingi, no beta we die like men, no names tho bc i couldn't stomach it, okay maybe mingi isn't that soft here, runaways - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:33:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28435443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/takoya_king/pseuds/takoya_king
Summary: Love was stupid, but it was love that they swore on and they’ll be damned if they let everything else get the best of them now.It was ride or die.
Relationships: Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa, Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa/Song Mingi, Kim Hongjoong/Song Mingi, Park Seonghwa/Song Mingi
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	Ride or Die

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Momofraise](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Momofraise/gifts).



It was too cliche of a question to ask so out of the blue, especially in these types of situations. It was too on the nose for all of them and even he didn’t know what type of answer he wanted. Besides all that, it was also a very dumb question to ask when you were in the middle of running away, but he figured that if there was anyone he’d want to ask then he wouldn’t rather anyone else than the company he’s with at that moment.

“Why are we doing this?”

With all his height, it wasn’t hard to miss for the other two when he had stopped in his tracks and stared back at them. The two before him gazed back at him, a million thoughts passing their heads and a million emotions swirling in their eyes. Out of the three of them, he was the tallest and the one who looked most intimidating- especially when donning his worn-out leather jacket- but at that moment while under their meaningful gazes, he felt like the world was about to swallow him whole.

A cold breeze swept by them, his gelled hair waving stiffly against the wind as the two before him shared a meaningful look before warm smiles broke through their faces. He watched as the shortest of them opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the oldest of them stepping towards the taller. 

Had they been in any other situation, he would have wondered if this was another one of his absurd daydreams, as soft lips met his chapped ones. However, hidden within the shadows of the early morning with the moon their only audience, he’d never felt more real and grounded than when warm hands cupped his cheeks, gently pulling him in. 

Their breaths tickled against each other’s skin as they pulled away, hearing the footsteps against the gravel moving towards them in short strides. A smaller hand grasped his as his gaze traveled to another pair of lips meeting his wrapped knuckles. 

“Because we love, Mingi…”

His voice came so softly that Mingi wondered if he just imagined it, but the way the older opened his hand and placed another kiss on his palm as if he hoped it would heal all the wounds that had long ago closed told him that he had heard right. Mingi let his hand be guided to the shorter man’s face and he felt like he could melt right there, his love leaning into his touch despite how cold he knew his hands were.

“Because we love.”

A chuckle escaped the eldest as he witnessed the two before him, so calm in each other’s presence. He wouldn’t admit it but his heart was racing with anxiety, knowing how much they’d be leaving behind the moment they continued on their way. They’ve all got their bags slung over their shoulders, bearing the weight that he felt held much more than just the clothes he packed. His eyes seemed to glaze over, mind falling into his pool of thoughts about what tomorrow brings.

“Hwa?”

Snapping out of his daze, the eldest looked over at them and donned a smile to comfort the worry he knew they’d be feeling.

“We’ll be okay, Hwa,” he heard as smaller fingers intertwined with his own. The feeling spread from the tips of his fingers to his chest and he couldn’t stop the chuckle that escaped him, carrying far too many emotions for him to tell apart. 

Sensing his distress, the shorter pulled Seonghwa into a tight embrace while the tallest of them watched them warmly before deciding to drape his long arms over their shoulders and bringing them into his chest. All three were sure that if anyone else were to witness them, they’d be out of this town faster than they wanted to be, which is exactly why they chose now as the best time to leave. They all broke from the hug and shared bittersweet smiles. They all knew what was at stake, nobody had to carry the worry all on their own. 

It wasn’t always them three, first, it was just Hongjoong and Seonghwa. They had always been close because of their age, it also helped that they had never really been part of anything outside of their group of friends because of how they were viewed around the neighborhood and at school. 

Hongjoong clenched at his shirt, over where his heart is. Their families might not have been the most accepting, but they were still family. Then, there were their friends who despite finding it hard to understand them, tried their best to even when they got dragged into the bullying. It pained him to leave them hastily, he wasn’t sure if the notes he left them would suffice for their disappearance.

Of course, Hongjoong and Seonghwa were actually… gay. It had started awkwardly with neither of them wanting to fully admit it. They tried avoiding each other, thinking it must have been contagious or something like that. Eventually, they found themselves together again, cried their hearts out behind a children’s slide, and never wanted to let go of each other’s hand. They suffered through the bullying together for a year, until they met Mingi and his friends.

With their towering heights, they acted as great intimidation for bullies who approached too close. Mingi; however, had a soft spot for the two and would be especially hard to hold back once slurs were thrown their way. He had to be grounded a number of times for defending them, but he never stopped.

Hongjoong always thought it was unfair that he was always the one being protected and shielded away from harm- he wanted to be able to save them too- which is probably the reason why he suggested they run away. He thought this might have been one of the only times he could save them from the bigger bullies and start over somewhere else. He wasn’t sure exactly where there were people who accepted guys like them, but he guessed it was better to take the shot now than to wait until one of them breaks under the pressure here. 

At least, if they were somewhere else, they had the chance of making their own name and forming their own identity. Nobody would know who they were and they could live just like that. For how long, he wasn’t sure- he just hoped he could live out the rest of his tomorrows with the ones he loved most.

Mingi’s soft spot eventually grew into fondness and his big mouth didn’t really help in stopping him from spilling out his heart to them by a swing set at the dead of night after running away from a group of boys with bats. It had gone silent and the usual confident stature they were so accustomed to had suddenly started drawing in on himself, apologizing for his words. He would have made a run for it if Hongjoong hadn’t read his thoughts and grabbed his arms before he could book it. 

The night had drawn out slower the more they talked about it, but the sun eventually found them over the horizon. The talk was awkward, thankfully the constant squeaking of the unoiled seesaw helped lighten the situation as the sun kissed their faces. The morning breeze slowly warmed on their cheeks as they sat in silence, just taking in their situation.

They weren’t stupid, they knew things would only get harder for them the moment they chose to continue like this. They knew nobody would accept them, they knew they would get disgusted looks, they knew what they had was weird, but maybe they were stupid. They were stupid because they decided to go for it anyway. 

Now, as the landmark greeted them, everything didn’t feel real. 

_“Let’s run away.”_

_Two pairs of eyes looked up at the voice, their breaths hot on their cheeks as they panted. They had just turned a corner and Seonghwa had an arm on the wall while Mingi had both hands on his knees, catching his breath. Hongjoong meanwhile had completely slid down the wall, worn out and staring at the red bricks ahead._

_“What?”_

_He turned his head away from them, spitting on the ground away from him, spotting blood and clicking his tongue at it before meeting Seonghwa’s eyes and then Mingi’s. He wasn’t kidding._

_Finally catching their breaths, Seonghwa leaned on the wall and looked at Mingi to gauge his answer. The tallest of them never liked pressure and that was exactly what he felt when he knew they were expecting an answer from him. He wiped at his mouth and looked at his hand, seeing blood smeared all over it. He felt his chest tighten as he looked up at Seonghwa and saw the scratches on his face, he turned to Hongjoong and noticed the beginnings of a bruise on his cheek. He bit his lip. Hard._

_“Mingi…”_

_The pricklings of pain he felt was interrupted by a soft voice, but for some reason that only made him turn to the wall beside him and unleash his anger in a forceful punch, followed by repeated slapping with his open palm, only earning him more scratches. He was so frustrated and he knew he couldn’t even yell in case the ones who dealt the damage heard them. He was the big tough guy of them and yet he wasn’t able to protect them. His hand stopped moving and silence fell over them in the alley. Nobody could meet anybody’s gaze._

_Mingi looked down at the ground between his feet, a single drop of blood falling from his busted lip, the effect of an earlier jab and his own biting. He chuckled, before spitting out the pooling blood in his mouth and turning to his companions. The sudden shift made the other two look at him. He grinned at them, the one he knew always made them happy._

_At the awkward sight, they all burst out laughing. Their voices echoed down the alley and they were sure people would think they were even crazier now, but they didn’t care- they were in love for God’s sake._

_“Let’s run away, yeah?”_

_“Yeah.”_

And so they did. 

Hongjoong doesn’t know how long they’ve walked, they left so early in the morning when they were sure their families were asleep and now the sky was turning orange. They had passed the big ‘thank you’ sign an hour or two ago and they only hoped the neighboring town was close. Their parents would surely find them easier if they just stayed in the next town, so they knew they had to catch a train and hope for the best. 

They never really had a thought out plan, but they had a lot of hope. 

Not many questions were asked about them when they got to the station, the sun beating over their heads. Seonghwa had gotten the tickets with the money they worked for the past summer, sporting Hongjoong and Mingi’s baggage as Mingi took to carrying the smaller on his back, exhausted from their walk. 

“Not the first pack of runaways I’ve seen.”

Seonghwa looked up at the lady, not particularly dolled up but the way her lips curled and the sparkle in her eye didn’t make her seem like she needed to be to draw people in. He was not dumb but figured he could make short conversation since she did initiate it. He made sure to glance around, observing their surroundings for any possible quick escapes. The number of people wasn’t particularly many, but he figured he could probably outrun her anyway when she was in such pinchy looking shoes-

“Miss Minji Kim, please call me Minji.”

“Seonghwa Park, how may I be of service?”

The smirk tugging at the side of her lips indicated she was amused, Seonghwa wasn’t quite sure if that was a good thing.

“You’ve got it all wrong, boy, I might be the one who can be of service to you.”

Seonghwa raised his hands in disagreement, fighting down the blush at her words, “Oh no! No! I’m not-”

She laughed, placing a delicate hand over her mouth, “You’re quite amusing, aren’t you?”

This time, he actually felt his ears flare-up. Before he could deny any of what he thought was her ‘service,’ she stopped him.

“I do think it is quite rude to assume that of a woman, no?”

Deciding to spare him from further embarrassment, she began to explain, “I was a runaway too you know,” She gave him a small smile as the memories seem to come back to her, “I didn’t like how my life was turning out and thought running was the best option. I was alone when I rode this same train actually.”

Seonghwa didn’t know where this was leading to and he did not want to be rude, but he did have two tired boys waiting for him. It seemed like she sensed his distress though when she decided to cut to the chase.

“I hopped on this train, not knowing where it would lead me to. I fell asleep and woke up somewhere completely new, but eventually, I found my place,” the younger was still confused, not sure what this had to do with him until, “If ever you need someplace to stay, there’s this band of people who are lost, you and your friends might be interested.”

“How did you-”

“Hwa!”

He turned his head to the sound of rushing steps, two boys appearing by his side and giving the lady wary looks. Mingi did not hesitate in placing a foot between Seonghwa and the woman, clearly towering over her. Minji raised her hands up in defense at the glare he was throwing her way.

“Calm down, Mingi, she was offering help.” Mingi immediately softened at the older’s voice and backed away.

So Minji continued. She gave them specific instructions on where to go and who to look for, what the place looked like, and who they might meet wandering around. She seemed to be able to go on about her companions, but decided to end it with a “Trust me, you’ll like them” before another woman came up and tapped her shoulder. 

“Minji, time to go.”

The new woman gave a quiet nod to the boys before she was introduced to be Yubin, one of the friends she’s supposedly met in ‘finding her place.’ Side by side, they could see how different the two were in appearance. While Minji was clearly taller, she also dressed much more neatly than the other who seemed to not mind her untucked blouse and loosely fit pants rolled up to her calves.

The older woman waved goodbye at them before turning away, they certainly didn’t miss the extra nod Yubin gave them or the hand that just gently grazed the older’s back- it wasn’t possessive or romantic, just protective. It made them wonder if everyone Minji talked about was also like that. 

They weren’t sure if that was something they wanted or not. On one hand, they could end up with a band of friends who looked out for each other if they were welcomed. On the other hand, they could end up being treated as outsiders and forced to fend for themselves. At this point, it was a 50/50 chance and no number of coin tosses could possibly soothe Seonghwa’s worries as they settled on the train.

Throughout the whole ride, Seonghwa and Hongjoong settled for alternating between sharing anxious looks, gazing out the window emotionally, and cooing at a drooling Mingi, sound asleep next to them. As much as they have never actually been out on a train or many motorized vehicles, they were pretty sure the rumbling in their stomach was more a mixture of hunger and fear rather than actual motion sickness.

Though they couldn’t take their time in stepping off the train due to the bustling passengers, they had reveled in the air of a new environment. They were in an unfamiliar place and their hearts were absolutely beating in their ears, except for Mingi- he went straight to looking for a bathroom. 

Hongjoong pulled out the notebook he wrote the details Minji had laid out for them, “We’re looking for a Yonghwan?” Seonghwa shrugged in response, “Miss Minji said he’d be by at a flower shop just outside and to the left of the station, she said to ask for Eden if we’re looking for him.”

Mingi ran over to them as the other two waved him over, “So it seems like we have to-”

“Excuse me?”

A tap on the shoulder and a rather bright voice made them turn around to see a smiling boy with dirt on his cheek, “Hello?”

“Oh!” He shook his hair, dirt kind of sprinkling everywhere while he straightened up and wiped the smudge on his face (it didn’t really help, it actually added a bigger smear on his face), “My name is Wooyoung Jung! I heard you were looking for Mistah Eden?”

“Were you- were you listening in on our conversation?”

He started walking off, waving the comment off, “Nah! I’ve just got big ears- big as my mouth they say, ha!” He seemed to stop a couple of feet away from them when he looked back to see they weren’t following, “Well come on, I’ll take you where you need to go!”

The three raised their eyebrows at each other before deciding to hell with it and followed the particularly loud fellow- he was quite charismatic in a way. 

As soon as they got past most of the people and into the street, the people had lessened as they dispersed from the station. The streets looked like those at home, but busier. Everything looked foreign but familiar at the same time and it only churned their stomachs even more. It felt like they were just dipping their toes into cold murky water and they have yet to reach the bottom-

“Eek!”

A loud crash had them turning their head to where their guide supposedly was- well, he was on the pavement now, with another boy kneeling next to him on the ground, a bike lying a foot away and several copies of the daily paper scattered on next to it. Seonghwa rushed over and helped Wooyoung up while Hongjoong grabbed the papers and Mingi held the bike up. They had expected him to be upset at the other boy, but he seemed to pout at him instead.

“How many times have I told you to watch where you’re going, Sannie?”

The boy, Sannie, dusted himself off before adjusting his cap and grinning at them, showing off a pair of dimples and crescent eyes. He scratched his head as he grabbed the bike from Mingi, now fixed with the papers that Hongjoong arranged back. When his smile dropped, Seonghwa wondered if the boy had switched to being a fox with how intense his curious gaze was. 

“They new, Woo?”

Wooyoung nodded, “Yep! Heading over to Mistah Eden’s right now!” It seemed that despite getting knocked off his feet, his bright demeanor didn’t falter and seemed to only be boosted by the new companion he had who also began smiling at them widely as he flicked his hat up and away from his line of sight.

“Well, I’m San Choi! One of Woo’s best friends,” He held his hand out to shake each one of them, his grip firm despite how gentle and kind his words were. Maybe they were right to assume everyone would be protective like Yubin., because as much as San was a ray of sunshine, the strength in his handshake was not one you’d particularly call normal for a simple formality. 

“Since you’re already on your way, I’ll tag along then!” He continued forward on his own, simply walking his bike, “If we’re lucky, we can have Gahyeon sneak us some bread from the bakery before Siyeon gets back from picking up her pastries from the Chinese store on the next block! I wonder how Miss Handong is doing, we don’t see her often but she seems nice, she makes great pastries too-”

It seemed like San could honestly go on about anything and everything so Wooyoung decided to hang back and speak to the three while San had his monologue, “He’s got quite the grip, right?”

They could only manage a nod, not sure how to respond. Wooyoung just shook his head fondly, “Don’t worry about him, he was like this when we met Jongho too and little Jongie was barely even 15 years back then. San can sure be intimidating sometimes, but you’ll be fine.” They only continued nodding, understanding where this was all coming from.

“Speaking of which, San is a talker once he’s anxious, so I’ll calm him down so he doesn’t talk your ears off, yeah?” Again, they nod, unsure of how else to respond.

“Joong?”

Hongjoong looked up at Mingi, “Yeah?” He saw the apprehensive look on his boy’s face, he could see right through him and read his thoughts about this whole thing. In truth, he did not know what to offer him in comfort, he had been blindly following too. He wasn’t sure where they were ending up but they might as well follow the only possible help they might ever get here. Lacking the words, Hongjoong chose to redirect his attention back to the backs of their guides and instead gave the younger’s hand a firm squeeze. He felt the other’s shoulders relax at that and sighed, they had a long way to go.

They actually were lucky enough to grab a loaf or two from a short girl with pouty lips, flour all over her attire. “Don’t finish it all in one go, okay? You’ll have to pay for that next time, Sannie!” she lightly scolded before letting them run off, just seconds before Siyeon would have spotted them.

“We barely got out of there with our lives!”

“Is she that scary?” Seonghwa had dared to ask and judging by the only response from San and Wooyoung being a quick glance at each other before a shudder, they knew she was THAT scary. “If you get on her bad side, she’s scary, but if you catch her at a good time then she might adopt you as a mother does.” Well, Seonghwa hoped they’d make an impression that would merit them the latter, but he had a feeling it wouldn’t be so easy to earn.

“Sangie! Jongie! Yunnie!”

Wooyoung’s high pitched screech ripped through the air as three figures became clearer to them as they approached this odd flower shop with barely any customers. Wooyoung had completely sprinted right into the slender looking male who completely dodged him at the last second. They had only met Wooyoung less than 20 minutes ago, but they’ve already seen him on the floor twice.

“Should have run at me, you know I can catch you easily,” said the other stouter figure, he seemed to do a lot of heavy lifting.

“Would you actually though?”

“No, but Yunho might.”

“Not a chance,” said the tallest figure before Wooyoung could even turn to him.

The bickering was so familiar to the three that it was scary, it almost felt like they were back at home with their friends laying under the shade of a large tree on a hill. The wave of nostalgia hit Hongjoong and he had to bite his lip to suppress a sob, it seemed like reality was starting to settle in. Only a warm arm wrapped around his shoulder kept him steady and pulled him together enough to clear his throat, getting the others’ attention.

“Ah, fresh meat-”

“Jongho, no.” A new voice came from the front of the shop. She stood relatively tall and gestured her head to enter the shop. The three moved forward as the conversation of the other boys slowly drowned out as they entered the store.

“Jongho, yes”

“Yeosang, don’t enable him-”

The door closed behind them and the girl turned to them with a smile, hand out, “I’m Yoohyeon Kim, I help out here at the shop, but I can go get Bora or Yunho from outside if you need actual help with the flowers-”

“Oh uhm actually we’re here looking for Eden?”

Her mouth turned into an ‘o’ and gestured for them to wait. They watched as she disappeared behind a particularly large arrangement of flowers, emerging later with another woman who looked at them from head to toe. She walked up to them and held her hand out for them to take.

“I’m Bora Kim, what do you need?”

She had a kind smile on her face, kind of bouncing on her heels as she greeted them. She seemed to be one of the more hyper ones, but none of them missed how she held Yoohyeon’s hand behind her back. The way her eyes seemed to take in everything about them also signaled that she wasn’t one to let anything pass by her- cautious.

Hongjoong was the one to take her hand, shaking it with assurance, “I’m Hongjoong Kim, these are my companions,” he gestured to them as he introduced them one by one. “Miss Minji Kim told us that if ever we needed a place to stay, we might need your help?” He left it sounding like a question, in case they got everything wrong.

“She told us to look for a Mr. Yonghwan Kim.”

Bora seemed to take this in, lips slightly pouted as she nodded at them. Seonghwa fidgeted in his stance, not able to read exactly if they believed them or not.

“It’s okay if that’s not the case, we’ll just look somewhere else-”

“That won’t do.”

“Huh?”

They looked at Bora as she sighed and shook her head before moving away from them, “I’ll take you to Eden,” she gestured for Yoohyeon to stay manning the shop as they moved to the back of the store. She led them to a door that opened into a back room, lots more flowers along with sacks of soil and fertilizer off to the side. The room was pretty well lit and had one window that let the natural light flood in. 

What made them stop looking around was the man looking over shelves tucked away in the corner. The soil in between his fingernails hinted at him working constantly, along with the dirt on his collar and the scruff of the ends of his pants. His hair was a bit grown out, scratching at his neck but politely swept back at the front. 

“Someone’s here for you, Eden.”

Humming in response, he turned to the group walking in, blinking. For a good moment, he just stared at them, seemingly not sure of what to do with this new information. The air increasingly became awkward and Mingi was the one who broke it with an awkwardly forced cough.

Finally coming to his senses, he dropped his arms to his sides and closed his eyes, a drawn-out sigh being let out, “Why is it always me?” He seemed exasperated, but he wasn’t done, “It could have been Soomin or Jonghoon this time…” He seemed to trail off as he gave an actual look at the boys. They reminded him of everyone else who had come to him in exactly the same way- those like Minji who had run away from a reality they didn’t want to make their own. 

“To be fair, Mr. Leez did recently take in four street kids,” Bora piped up, “remember those ones who got caught stealing from the jewelry store down the street?” She placed a hand on her chin in thought before snapping her fingers as she remembered something else, “Oh! Also, that other kid who almost burned down the bakery! Byeongkwan was it?” The bright and casual way she had mentioned it had Hongjoong worried that everyone else they had just met was the same.

Bora waved at his worried expression, “Don’t worry, nobody is dangerous here- maybe Siyeon if you get her mad.” They only nodded in understanding.

Snapping out of his daze, Eden finally walked up closer to the boys, mumbling to himself- something about Minji, not taking in any more people, and a bit about not listening anyway.

He crossed his arms before sighing, resigned to be the designated care-taker. “As you might already know, I’m Yonghwan Kim, you can call me Eden- get it because it’s a flower shop? Garden of Eden? No? Never mind.” He pinched the bridge of his nose as if drawing up all the willpower he had in him to continue talking.

“You can stay here, but you’ll have to pay me back once you get jobs, okay?”

As if a switch had been flipped, the three boys all began grinning, the worried looks falling from their faces. Seonghwa felt that he could finally breathe and he could only muster smiling at his companions as Mingi swung the tiny Hongjoong around in joy.

“Thank you so much! We’ll try to get jobs as soon as possible, we promise!” Seonghwa nodded at the words his partner let out before adding in, “I can cook and clean, so I can help out around whenever!”

“Yes, yes, we get it, now please take your celebration upstairs.” Despite the rather abrupt dismissal, the smile Eden tried fighting down did not escape them and they only grinned at him. Bora only shook her head in amusement before ushering them out of the room, waving at Eden before shutting the door. Unbeknownst to them, Eden had let out a fond chuckle as soon as they were out of sight, again muttering, but this time it was something along the lines of kids and getting too old for this.

Bora had taken them to another door that opened to a staircase, it led them to a whole row of doors that were probably rooms for the others, “This place used to be a lodge, believe it or not, but Eden used to be a pub owner before he started taking us in.”

“That’s funny, can’t quite place him in that type of place.” Mingi had said offhandedly as he looked around the hallway, curious about the worn wood and stained walls. 

“Uhuh!” Bora nodded, “The old man might never say it but he loved having us around, Oh-” She stopped before one of the doors and seemed to hesitate before shaking her head and pushing it open. They didn’t miss this, looking at each other before shrugging it off to be none of their business.

“This is your room now,” she stepped aside to let them pool in, “it used to be mine and a friend’s but her parents found her, and she had to go home.” The reminiscent look in her eyes as she looked around the room with two beds was more than enough explanation for them. The boys decided to look around, Seonghwa immediately going for checking under the beds, Hongjoong with opening the window, and Mingi straight to the bed- Seonghwa cringed at the amount of dust going up in the air as he did.

“We don’t really have another room where one of you could stay, because Jongho likes sleeping on his own, so I hope this is fine.”

“Ah no, this is fine for us.”

“Her name was Handong by the way.”

The three looked up at her, a bit taken by surprise at the sudden mention of her friend, “I- I don’t know, I thought you might want to know- oh! Uhm, actually she visits sometimes when she can so you might meet her some time yes…” She shook her head as if to shake away her rambling as she gestured to them, “I’ll uhm let you get settled, yes? I’ll go back to the shop- bye!”

As the door closed behind her, Seonghwa had come up behind Hongjoong, wrapping his arms around him in a hug. The shorter placed his own hands over his and leaned into the embrace. So he had been craving for touch since they got here, sue him. 

Seonghwa smiled and placed a tentative kiss on the other’s shoulder before settling his chin there. Mingi was lying face down on the dusty bed- how he was able to breathe was beyond them- before he noticed the silence and looked up at them, hair a bit frazzled. Sitting up, he ran his hands through his hair, happy to witness such a sweet sight before walking up to them and placing a kiss on each of their foreheads. 

Feeling particularly happy today, Mingi cupped both of Hongjoong’s cheeks before kissing him properly. He always found the effort of kissing his smaller partner to be sweet, he liked to hold him close with one hand gripping his hip close. The other, likewise, always felt safe in the long arms encasing him, it felt like he was afraid he’d break him if he pushed too much.

As they parted, Seonghwa found his turn in kissing the shortest. While Mingi was gentle and safe, Seonghwa was firm and sure, he moved against his lips with the intent to prove himself and Hongjoong had always found that endearing. He melted against his lips as the taller’s hands ran through his hair and settled at his nape, keeping him grounded. 

Mingi felt no rush, he watched as his loves parted from each other and rested their foreheads against each other. Now that they were away from the hateful stares, he felt like he had all the time in the world to kiss the people he loved. This only amplified when he finally got to kiss Seonghwa. 

For Mingi, he had always wanted to treat whoever he loved gently, but when Seonghwa was before him he always felt the urge to grip him just a bit tighter than he did Hongjoong. There was a certain satisfaction whenever he felt the other’s breath hitch when both of his hands held his hips in place while the older’s arms fell on his shoulders. Nipping at Mingi’s lips before they left each other’s lips was usually how he responded to it. Sometimes Mingi wished he’d pull on his hair just a bit, but that was a conversation for another time.

They really did it, they ran away. They’re living their lives, writing their own narrative. It felt so surreal but as Hongjoong ran his hands on the old bed covers, he knew it was real. For a while Seonghwa and Mingi just sat on one bed while Hongjoong on the other, silence in the room. They were all thinking, thinking about what the next step would be. 

They had gotten away from their past, but what now? What if these people wouldn’t accept them too? What if they had to run away again? What if they won’t be able to find another place to stay? What then? What if-

Hongjoong shook his head, there was no point thinking of the what-ifs, they should be content with right now. Right now, they were safe and they were happy- anxious, but happy. That’s all that mattered right now.

A sound broke through the silence, a low rumble coming from Mingi. They all looked at each other before they were interrupted once again.

“Are you three joining us for dinner?”

The three lost boys had turned to each other before a laugh broke out between them. San and Jongho looked at them incredulously from the doorway, Yeosang passed by with Wooyoung clinging onto his arm, Yunho looking over their heads. 

“What’s got into them?” 

San simply shook his head, not quite sure either. The three who had now fallen from the beds and were now on the floor, trying to hold back their laughter as they all stared at each other. Who knew this was where they’d be after a couple of months of being together- being looked at strangely by their new housemates for laughing maniacally in response to a simple question for dinner.

Love was stupid. Love led you to do things you’d never in a million years see yourself doing. Love led you to believe in things you would have never thought were possible. Love led you to think of things you would have never imagined yourself. It was love that led to them running away from their lives. Yet it was also love that led them here, in each other’s arms. Maybe it wasn’t much now, but they’ll make it enough. It was love that they swore on and they’ll be damned if they let everything else get the best of them now. 

“Yes, we’ll be joining for dinner.”

**Author's Note:**

> TL;DR: Three gays run away to be a happy polycule.
> 
> Merry Christmas, Ophelia!


End file.
